Probably my future home. Ciputra and Salim Group (construction company from Indonesia) are building KWIC. It will consist over 6,000 bungalows, several high-rise apartments, club, hospital, school, etc.

KWIC is located in Howrah (west side of Kolkata) on national highway 6.

We (me, mom, dad, Manoj) went today to check out the place and view sample bungalows. Construction is going on 24/7. The whole project is divided in phases. First phase will be completed by December 2007 and 450 bungalows will be handed over to the owners. The whole project will supposed to end by 2010. Above is a sample illustration of the bungalow, which we are planning to book.

The above is the photograph of the main gate of the ‘Ciputra Hanoi International City’ in Vietnam. The same is being built for KWIC (I saw the horses at the construction site.)

Do what we feel right or do what our elders tell us? It’s a simple question but I guess has a very complicated answer. For example, yesterday some guruji (saint) came to our apartment. So almost every tenant was supposed to go and visit him, take his blessing and offer him some donations. My mom asked me to do the same. I told her, see mom I do not believe in these things so I will not go and visit him. She tried to persuade me for quite sometime but then she failed and went alone. I felt bad.

I do not understand why our elders have to tell us what we should believe in or not. Aren’t we old or educated enough to choose between right and wrong? Can’t we make our own decisions? Do our elders just want us to follow them?

I understand that our elders have more experience but they should not live our lives. I do not know if what I did was wrong or right, but at least I did what I believed in. I do not want to follow the crowd blindly and get lost in it. I want to choose my own path.

The Telegraph, Calcutta, Monday 30 January 2006, Page 18 Editorial section. "Ruining a good case - The IIMB was rightly refused permission to expand overseas" written by S. L. Rao.

I read this article today morning. The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore wants to open an overseas campus in Singapore. On the other hand the Indian Government is not supporting this act. And the above mentioned article has pointed out some wonderful points why the Indian Government is right.

I am not an expert on IIM but I agree to S. L. Rao's point-of-view and the decisions of the Indian Government on this topic. Lakhs of students give entrance exams for joining IIM, a few thousands of them are called for an interview and only a few hundreds of them get actually admitted. Just imagine this happening in India - a country with the second highest population in the world. So many people do not even get chance to study. "The IIMs must first focus on significantly adding their student intake."

Before going abroad and setting up campuses there. Invite foreign students to India and serve them in India. When that is done successfully then thinks about going to their country and setting up campuses there.

But prior to all that, the IIMs seriously needs to think about taking more Indian students. There is no point of going and teaching others until we can teach ourselves.

This is the slogan of the new Aamir Khan movie. I watched 'Rang De Basanti' yesterday at Inox with Vineet and Shiv. Contrarary to the last week all of us were in the same theatre.

Anyways, the thing that I wanted to share with you today was the way this movie was different. This movie is also based on Bhagat Singh, young generation freedom fighter. Like other Bhagat Singh movies this movie did not just potray the life story of Bhagat Singh, but used that story as a analogy and showed that something similar to that can happen in today.

By something I mean the awakening of the young generation with a blast. But how true is this? I question myself. I do not thing something like this can happen today. Where youngster will sacrifice everything they have and work towards only one objective of 'chaging the world for good.' Days of Bhagat Singh were different than today.

Until and unless the thinking of people-in-general change, awakening of the young generation will not affect anything. The awakening of the young generation is a good start though because they are the future of tomorrow. But the young generation is being pulled back by their elders and forced into doing wrong.

But we have to change and do what is right. For once think from your mind and heart together. You will find the answer.

January 26, 2006 was the Republic day of India and the Don Bosco Liluah Past Pupils Association (DBLPP) organized annual reunion day. More than 450 people came. It was good to see friends from school once again after a long time.

We (me, Vivek, Yogesh and Shiv), the so called 'PR Committee' of the DBLPP were supposed to take care of the displaying all the advertisements of the sponsors, take care of the projectors, etc. We also prepared a 5 minute long presentation regarding DBLPP. Which could not be presented completely because the projector shut down during presentation (technical difficulties.) Though we presented 3/4 of it by then. Only some statistics and credits were not displayed.

Anyways the show overall was okay. No more comments. Have a look at the photos.

I registered myself for Photo 1000 - Traditional Black and White Photography class with Ajarn Buddhaporn when I was at Webster. We learnt how to click photographs with a Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera and then print it ourselves in the dark room. You might be thinking that what’s so difficult about a photography course it might have been fun. No, it was sincere hard work. We had to stay inside the dark room for hours and hours just to get one good print.

Everything from loading the film onto the camera to clicking photos to loading the exposed film onto the cartridge in a dark room to washing the film in chemicals to developing the print in the dark room, was painstaking hard work and required a lot of time and précised strategic steps to develop a good photo.

Over a period of 8 weeks we were required to submit three assignments with 4 photographs each. Each assignments were supposed to have a theme. At the end of the class four best photos (portfolio) clicked by each students were selected and displayed at the graduation ceremony of Webster at Hilton Resort and Spa.

Below is my photo statement (“What makes a good photo?”) which was displayed along with my portfolio photos.

What makes a good photo? It’s not an expensive camera, not a beautiful landscape, neither the perfect angle. It’s the photographer, who ensures the ideal composition, light, shape, line, form, etc which adds life to a photo.

If you want to become a good photographer, start taking photos with a digital camera. It’s fast, easy and inexpensive. In digital photography what you see is what you get. In the last three years, I have clicked 14,349 digital photos. One does not have to worry about light meter or shutter speed (complicated techniques of traditional photography), since it is automatic. Digital photography has improved my ability (composition, light, etc) to take photos.

But when I started using a Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera, I found out that the real essence of photography lies in traditional black and white photography. Let me explain how a photo is taken with a SLR camera.

When you take a photograph, the film in your camera is exposed to light. The quality of your photograph depends on how much light reaches the film, and how long the film is exposed to the light. Two camera controls, aperture size and shutter speed affect exposure.

The size of a camera’s aperture regulates how much light reaches the film and also determines the photographs depth of field. The camera’s shutter speed controls exposure and the appearance of moving objects in the photograph. Exposure is determined by the combination of aperture size and shutter speed. The two controls act together to produce the final image.

If you master the combinations of these two controls, you can take good photographs. But in traditional black and white photography, what you see might not be what you get, because your final outcome depends upon the darkroom techniques used. The best combination of burning, dodging, choosing a filter, f-stop, exposure time, etc will result in a good print.

I joined Webster University Thailand (WUT) in Fall 2002 as a full time undergraduate and graduated in Fall II (December) 2005. In the three and half years that I spent at WUT, I have seen it evolve remarkably.

Webster Thailand Student Council (WTSC) - the student government body - is comprised of volunteers (students) who commit themselves to working towards the betterment of campus life. Like any other democratic system, WTSC is headed by four Officers, who are elected by the members of the Council. Organizing cultural events such as the Collage of Cultures and the Food Fair; community service events like Band Aids and First Aids sessions; student-orientated activities such as overnight fieldtrips, fundraisers, Sports week, operating a store, and hosting various parties like the Ice Breaker Dance and Halloween Rave are the main features of the WTSC.

Between February 7-13, 2005, WTSC organized the Tsunami Relief Week. A total amount of more than 81,000 Baht (US$ 2,025) was raised, through which the WTSC sponsored the construction of water tanks for a school affected by the Tsunami in Southern Thailand.Band AIDS, a musical concert for raising AIDS awareness among the local community was organized on September 10, 2005. The concert showcased the talents of eleven bands, with professional as well as university student musicians. Through its stalls and donations WTSC raised 34,000 Baht (US$ 850), which was donated to the Thai Red Cross Society's AIDS Project on eve of World AIDS Day on December 1, 2005. Band AIDS was covered by the Hua Hin Today, English newspaper and Channel 4, a Thai TV station. Band AIDS was one of the biggest events undertaken by the WTSC and as a student stated "Band AIDS was probably the biggest and most successful Webster event yet."International Food Fair is an annual event at WUT now. Every year students from various nationalities get together and cook the delicacies from their own countries. But on April 22, 2005, it was not only food but music too. 29,000 Baht (US$ 725) was raised through food sales which was later donated to the WUT Music Society to purchase music equipments.Another annual feature at WUT is the Collage of Cultures - a cultural extravaganza in which students exuberate the different cultures in Webster and display unity in diversity. On December 10, 2005, the 3rd annual Collage of Cultures was organized by the WTSC. A fashion show featuring traditional and innovative wear, musical performance as well as cultural dances. A new addition this year was faculty awards. Faculty awards were divided in the following categories: Entertaining, Helpful, Party Animal, Strict, Stylish, and Websterite.

The WTSC redesigned the student lounge giving it a more casual and personal look with signatures of all present and new students from Spring 1 2004. On October 10, 2005 the WTSC Store was inaugurated. The store provides students with the opportunity to purchase stationary and Webster merchandise. Over the years the WTSC has organized overnight educational fieldtrips to Phuket, Kanchanaburi, Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, etc.

WUT donated quilts and kerosene stoves worth more than 40,000 Baht (US$ 1,000) to the victims of the South Asian Earthquake in Pakistan .

A new soccer field was inaugurated in 2005. This was possible through donations from students and friends of Webster.

Several company visits were organized by different academic departments for students. EURO RSCG, Amarin Publishing, United Nations Headquarters, Procter and Gamble, Citibank Research, Stock Exchange of Thailand, Samart Group, and UNESCO were visited by students. Various guest lecturers were invited to WUT to share their experience with students – Ben Mast, Brenda Bence, S. P. Hozy 'Penny', Andrew Klukowski and several other speakers from American Chamber of Commerce are a few to mention.

The beach cleanup and Sand Sculptor contest was organized by the Special Events class. The beach clean up made it to the front page of the Bangkok post, leading English newspaper of Thailand.

Photographs taken by the students of the traditional black and white photo class were exhibited twice at Starbucks and once in Hilton Resort and Spa in Hua Hin over the years. These exhibitions give a platform to the students for displaying there talent to the public.

A new prototype for the student newspaper was designed in order to reposition community image. By the end of Fall 2004, the WUT community met CHAI. It was the new student newspaper of WUT. The first time in the history of WUT, a colored student newspaper was printed.WUT's web site (http://www.webster.ac.th/) got a makeover. Since the web site revamp in December 2004, the monthly hit counter, more than doubled itself from 8,000 to 20,000 visits monthly and since then it increased ever since. The web site offers additional features along with complete and up-to-date information aided by an easy navigational system.

The computer network has been an issue of constant debate at WUT. Poor computer resources and slow internet speed was the problem. But in 2005 WUT bumped up its IT. Internet bandwidth was increased from 768 kbps to 2mbps. Separate internet servers were setup for students and staff to distribute resources efficiently and increase internet speed. Wireless Internet was introduced. Students can now use internet almost anywhere in the school without connecting any wire. New computers were installed in the library and media lab. A new video lab equipped with Apple Computers was accomplished.

Two new certificate programs - Professional Writing and Buddhist Studies - were also added in the array of academics programs offered at WUT. In order to relax the mind, Modern Dance, Yoga and Meditation classes were also offered from time-to-time. And all the above was under the supervision of Rector Kit Jenkins. She has been providing constant effort to support the development of WUT. Members of the WUT community are also to be praised. There is potential and capabilities among the students, all we have to do is to find the opportunity and help WUT grow more.

Today I went to Inox (theater) to watch a hindi movie ‘Zinda.’ Interesting movie. Sanjay Dutt has done a good job. I also invited my friend Vineet to watch the movie with me. I told him to come to Inox by 2:30 pm. He came and gave me a call to meet near the ticket counter. Both of us were standing near the ticket counter but we could not see each other. It was weird. We were talking on the phone but could not see each other. On the other hand the movie already started. Later on we figured out that Vineet was standing at the Inox City Center whereas I was at Inox Forum. Totally different movie halls. But at the end of the day both of us did watch the movie but in different theaters.

During my North India trip, I met India’s Most Wanted kids. They are naughty (Ladoo), dangerous (Diya), angry (Jadoo) and quite (Misti). It was fun spending time with these kids though. Have a look at their photos.

Ladoo with JadooJadoo’s real name is Aryan and he is the one on the scooter. On the other hand Ladoo’s real name is Karan, and he is the one with all the broken teethes.

Dangerous DiyaDiya is the most dangerous one. She pulls my hair a lot and sometimes even beats me up. Its fun though. She is very fond of new dresses. Dolly and I got her the pink one from Darjeeling, which she is wearing in the photo. She is so naughty that once she cut her mom’s wrist (Titan) watch leather belt.

Angry (Young) ManJadoo is the angry young man. Whatever he wants he is gonna get it. But the best thing about him is the way he runs.

The Sweetest OneMisti (Sweet) is the latest one. She is quite and like a little fat rossogulla.

Nowadays we can see the “Kolkata Rising” campaign by The Times of India newspaper all over Kolkata. The campaign basically promotes the way Kolkata has grown in the past years. But on the other hand we can still find people washing clothes and taking bath in the holy waters of the ganga river (though it is so dirty.) What’s the use of promoting Kolkata’s growth, where on the other hand a lot of people living in Kolkata don’t even have basic necessities of life (WATER to bathe and wash clothes.)

This winter I traveled from Calcutta to Siliguri to Darjeeling to Delhi to Hisar to Kagdana to Rohtak to Jaipur and then back to Calcutta. It was a 15 day long trip, met lots of people, ate lots of food, and of course traveled a lot (trains, buses, car, etc). And to top it all, my brand new iPod Video got sick and had to take a vacation to the states. So I spent my reading magazines while traveling. Below are a few pictures from the trip.

Birla Mandir, JaipurI took this photo while I was sitting in the car and waiting for the red light to go green. It is so amazing how the Birla’s have built a temple in almost all the major cities in India.

Hisar SunsetNotice the rising line the cloud is making. It seems its indicating the growing stock market in India. Haha. Not funny. I know it.

Taj MahalI saw the Taj Mahal for real. Though, I was really far sitting in a train. But I saw it. Sher, you always told me that you live in India and you never saw the Taj Mahal. I was so excited when I saw the Taj Mahal from the train while passing the Agra railway station that I even told lady who was traveling with me that see we can see the Taj Mahal from here.

I clicked a few pictures at Darjelling also, but it’s with Dolly (my sister). I will post it on my blogs as soon Dolly or Shyam Jiju sends me the pictures. So guys hurry up.

The photos below were taken during an early morning boat trip to the dentist. What happened at the dentist is to “graphic” to even write, so I will pass. You can ask Vivek or Yogesh, who accompanied me.

Feeling ColdI couldn’t stop myself from laughing after seeing this. 6 am in the morning on a boat. Just imagine how cold it was. For the first time (I guess) even I was wearing a muffler (thanks to Vivek) Which I haven’t returned to him yet. Vivek, please remind me.

Vivek’s new mode of transportation (Cycle on boat)It was Vivek’s idea to take this photo and send it to the Kolkata Rising campaign.